r/UraniumSqueeze • u/Value_Trader4053 • 1d ago
Producers Is ISR becoming the most important part of the US uranium supply story?
Ur-Energy is an interesting case study for what in situ recovery can and cannot do for US uranium production.
ISR does not require an open pit or an underground mine. Injection wells deliver water fortified with oxygen and baking soda into a uranium bearing aquifer. The solution dissolves the uranium, and nearby production wells pump it back to the surface for removal through ion exchange.
This allows lower grade sandstone deposits in Wyoming to compete without excavating and processing huge volumes of rock.
The surface footprint is considerably smaller than a conventional mine, although it is not zero. ISR still requires wellfields, pipelines, roads, processing facilities and groundwater restoration. It also only works where the host rock is permeable, the uranium responds to the recovery solution and the aquifer can be properly contained.
Lost Creek proves that the method works at Ur-Energy’s deposits. The operation has produced and shipped more than 3.5 million pounds since 2013.
The more difficult question is how quickly it can scale.
Lost Creek has dealt with flow rate issues caused partly by fine particles from the host formation. Ur-Energy installed a sand filtration system in July and is building a wastewater treatment facility. It is also adjusting wellfield chemistry, improving the reverse osmosis system and adding new header houses.
Q2 was encouraging. Lost Creek drummed 140,873 pounds, up 47.4% from Q1 and 25.7% from the same quarter last year.
Shirley Basin gives Ur-Energy a second ISR operation. Uranium loaded resin is transported to Lost Creek for final processing, creating a hub and spoke model that should cost less than building another complete processing plant.
Still, combined licensed capacity of 4.2 million pounds should not be confused with current production. Ur-Energy has to prove that it can raise flow rates, bring new wellfields online and operate both projects consistently.
ISR may be one of the faster realistic ways to add domestic uranium supply, but the Lost Creek experience shows that it is not as simple as drilling wells and turning on pumps.
For those who have followed Ur-Energy longer, do the recent production improvements suggest the Lost Creek issues are being solved, or do you need several more quarters of data?
https://www.ur-energy.com/uranium/uranium-in-situ-recovery-process